Mr Pickle, Jewish punk, Friday night dinners and Freud

It all started with a pickle – Mr Pickle to be precise. The first ever Jewish Culture Month needed a symbol which encapsulated joy and fun – something which would not look out of place at a glitzy launch at the Freud Museum, or indeed in a salt beef sandwich.

The mascot of this hugely diverse festival shook hands with Steve Reed, Secretary of State for housing, communities and local government, and popped up in some of the nation’s leading cultural institutions. He even served as guest editor of the JC for one slightly surreal morning.

What Mr Pickle helped to popularise was a hugely significant moment for the UK Jewish community. As Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg put it, now was the time for less “oy” and more joy. After the pain of recent years, we wanted to showcase the richness of our cultural contribution and to enjoy ourselves in the process.

Tenor Ronald Samm performing at L'Chaim - Music by Jewish composers, part of Jewish Culture Month (Photo: courtesy)[Missing Credit]

The ambition was vast. After months of planning, we delivered more than 150 events across the UK (with one in Dublin for good measure).

It began with a launch at the Freud Museum in Hampstead. Steve Reed and broadcaster Vanessa Feltz spoke movingly, while guests explored Freud’s study and viewed works by surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. An analyst and an artist even invited visitors onto a couch to share their dreams, and a fiddler played from the roof (well, the balcony).

It concluded with one of the year’s major art openings: Anish Kapoor’s exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, filling the space with immersive works that press against walls and floors or descend from above, creating an uncanny sense of awe.

In between came the festival’s largest audience, for a British Museum talk on ancient Israel and Judah. Initially postponed due to a security concern, the rescheduled lecture by Dr Paul Collins sold out in person and drew over 4,000 viewers online.

L'Chaim-L'Chaos (Photo: Denise Lester)[Missing Credit]

It may seem a long way from archaeological finds to the new wave explosion of the 1970s but both were covered in the festival. L’Chaim / L’Chaos: 50 Years of Jewish Punk explored the enduring relationship between Jewish youth culture and Britain’s 1970s punk scene.

Music lovers also had the chance to hear from 10CC’s legendary Mancunian frontman Graham Gouldman, who reflected on the ten pivotal songs that shaped his life. There was also a brilliant discussion on the Jewish contribution to the making of modern Manchester, telling the story of how a small community helped shape one of Britain’s great cities.

Grahame Gouldman, founder member of rock band 10CC being interviewed for '10 Songs that Changed My Life' (Photo: Denise Lester)[Missing Credit]

You didn’t even need to leave the house to enjoy the riches of Jewish Culture Month. The BBC offered some gems from the vaults on TV and extra programming on radio. There was Growing Up Jewish, a documentary from 2024 about four young people on the cusp of adulthood; and on BBC Four ,there was another chance to see the documentary Gluck, first shown in 2017, about the life of trailblazing, cross-dressing British artist Gluck - born Hannah Gluckstein - from the 1930s. The two shows are still on the iPlayer, if you would like to check them out.

Jewish Culture Month was not only about flagship events. Local communities embraced the festival, delivering a wide array of smaller initiatives that deepened its impact. We also encouraged people to host Friday night Shabbat dinners for friends beyond the Jewish community, which we saw as a simple but powerful way to share culture, spark conversation and build understanding through food and hospitality.

Shedletskys and Friends event (Photo: Sophie Shaw)[Missing Credit]

We were particularly happy to present a programme of some of the most outstanding British-Jewish short films commissioned by UK Jewish Film over the first quarter of the 21st century at venues around the country, including Chichester, Norwich, Bath, Canterbury and Manchester.

In Cardiff, there was a two-hour walking tour through the city centre exploring sites connected to the history of Jewish refugees and Wales’ wider relationship with the Holocaust. It concluded at the beloved Wally’s Kaffeehaus, opened in 1947 by Austrian Jewish refugee Ignatz Salamon. Today, run by his grandson Steven, the café remains a living legacy of refugee resilience.

Back in London, at Ein Sof Gallery, an intimate conversation between artists Liorah Tchiprout and Nicole Zisman explored their friendship and how their Judaism shapes their creative lives.

Of course, Jewish Culture Month would not have been complete without some foodie content, and we had plenty – notably an event called Milk, Memory and Cheesecake, hosted by the Jewish Square Mile, which investigated the dairy tradition of Shavuot with a medieval food historian.

Milk, Memory and Cheesecake event for Jewish Culture Month (Photo: Sophie Shaw)[Missing Credit]

This week marks the end of Jewish Culture Month but in a sense, this is also the beginning. The festival was never intended to be a one-off and we plan to be back next year, bigger and better. We would like this to be an annual space for the exploration of our culture, and we want it to be on a grand scale. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2027.

Liat Rosenthal is Board of Deputies director of culture, education and communities

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Jewish Culture Month

Mr Pickle, Jewish punk, Friday night dinners and Freud

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